Major land dispute brewing in Kibaha

Kibaha District is headed for a major land dispute after the sticks used as beacons to identify plots at Disunyala area in Kibaha District, Coast Region, were eaten up by ants.

More than 150 plots surveyed at the area five kilometres off Dar es Salaam-Morogoro Road near Mlandizi, will need fresh demarcation to avoid conflicts that might arise between the new owners over borders.

“It’s like is walking over unmarked graves,” said Mohammed Musa, one of the people who went over the weekend to be shown his family’s plot.

This reporter visited the site where he witnessed the small sticks meant to be the beacons that identify the surveyed plots, some of which have been eaten by ants, while others have apparently been removed by unknown people.

Only one beacon Number ZFA 429 was seen in place in the area, leaving many of the people who went to see their allocated plots fearing that some dishonest developers might take advantage of the situation to create their own demarcations.

This could result into conflicts, as land issues become more sensitive, they pointed out.

A land officer in-charge of the Disunyala plots allocation, Lenard Mhongole acknowledged the poor demarcation of the plots in the area, attributing it to people who might have uprooted the wooden beacons for domestic use and most probably the charcoal makers.

He said because the area was yet to be developed, some of the vandals might have seized the opportunity, especially since the area was un-occupied.

Owners of the more than 150 plots were allocated their plots after paying all dues to the Kibaha District land office.

The Kibaha District Executive Director, Tatu Selemani told this paper over the telephone that the work of demarcating the plots was carried out by a Dar es Salaam-based firm called Ardhi Plan and that she thought all was going well at the site.

“What we know up to this moment is that all is well because we have not received any complaint from the firm we assigned the work,” she said while asking this reporter to contact the firm.

When contacted, one of the firm’s officials who gave one name of Liombo said he was not in a position to respond to this reporter’s questions over the phone.

A motor cyclist famous for sending potential developers to the Disunyala site from Mlandizi, Rashid Abdul, told this reporter that many of the people he had taken to the plots came back frustrated.

“Some of them even think they have been conned, after they were not shown their plots because the beacons had been up-rooted,” he told this reporter.

The problem started brewing last week when officials of the Land Division in the district opted to keep mum over persistent requests by owners seeking to be allocated their plots after paying millions of shillings for them.

Potential developers paid between 2m/- to 6m/- for the plots since October last year, but the allocation started only last week.

The Acting District Land, Natural Resources and Environment Officer, Frank Mwalembe summoned at the DED’s office admitted that there were some hitches on the whole issue of allocation of the plots, but said the issue would be solved cordially “very soon.”

A 600 square-metre plot in Disunyala costs a sum total of 3m/-, of which 1,667,012/- is deposited into one David Robert Makange’s account number 01523158487000, leading many payers to ask why a private person was being paid when Kibaha district officials were issuing the title deeds.

It was later revealed that Makange was the former owner of the area which was being demarcated into plots and that the Kibaha District was only facilitating the exercise, of course with levy remitted by the owner of the area.

Out of the 3m/- paid, 979,039/- is paid into Ardhi Plan account number 0150029829003 at the CRDB Bank. There was also an outcry on the hiring of a private surveyor while there were experts in the ministry of Lands to do the job.

Another 300,000/- was to be paid into the Kibaha District Council Account No. 2121200191 – NMB account called ‘ Own Source Collection Account’ and 49,950/- to be paid into CRDB account number 2121200195 named ‘ Miscellaneous Deposit’.

A notice signed by one H.K. Kidimani on behalf of the Kibaha District Council asked people wanting the plots to hand over the various bank paying slips to the Lands office for it to process the title deeds

CAG ataka ofisi yake iwe huru

MDHIBITI na Mkaguzi Mkuu wa Hesabu za Serikali (CAG), Ludovick Utouh, amependekeza kuwa ofisi yake iwe taasisi ya kujitegemea ili iwe huru kufanya kazi bila kuingiliwa na idara nyingine.

Akizungumza na waandishi wa habari jana jijini Dar es Salaam baada ya kutoa maoni ya ofisi yake katika Tume ya Mabadiliko ya Katiba, alisema watumishi wa idara hiyo wanapendekeza ofisi yake iwe taasisi inayojitegemea.

Utouh, alisema kuwa idara hiyo inafaa kuwa kama ilivyoundwa Mamlaka ya Mapato Nchini (TRA) au Benki Kuu ya Tanzania (BoT) ili kuweza kufanya kazi zao kwa uhuru huku wakiweza kuajiri.

Akitolea mfano, CAG alisema wakati mwingine huitaji kuajiri, lakini wanashindwa kufanya hivyo kwa kuwa kuna taratibu zinazowahitaji kuandika barua kwanza serikalini.

Aidha, mwasisi wa kupigania uhuru nchini aliyewahi kushika nafasi mbalimbali serikalini, George Kahama, naye alitoa maoni katika ofisi za tume hiyo, lakini hakuwa tayari kuzungumzia kile alichokieleza.

Mwenyekiti wa Tume ya Mabadiliko ya Katiba, Jaji mstaafu Joseph Warioba, alipoulizwa juu ya maoni yaliyowasilishwa na Kahama aligoma kuzungumza

Msigwa aifyatua Ikulu

• Aituhumu kuwapa vyeo majangili

BAADHI ya maofisa wa taasisi nyeti za serikali ikiwemo Ikulu, wametuhumiwa kula njama kuwaficha watu waliotuhumiwa kuhusika na vitendo vya ujangili na wengine kuwapandisha vyeo vikiwemo vya ubalozi.

Tuhuma hizo zimetolewa jana na Waziri Kivuli wa Wizara ya Maliasili na Utalii, Mchungaji Peter Msigwa, alipozungumza na waandishi wa habari na kueleza kusudio lake la kupeleka hoja binafsi bungeni ili kuunda tume ya kuchunguza sakata zima la tuhuma za ujangili.

Hata hivyo, mbunge huyo hakuweza kutaja majina ya maofisa wanaotuhumiwa, lakini akafafanua kuwa alipokuwa katika kamati ndogo ya kufuatilia utoroshwaji wa twiga, kuna majina ya watu yalitajwa kwa ajili ya kuchunguzwa na ikibidi wachukuliwe hatua, lakini kilichofanyika ni wahusika kupewa vyeo vya utumishi, ukiwemo ubalozi.

Msigwa alisema tayari Januari 8 mwaka huu katibu wa Bunge amemtaka awasilishe maelezo ya hoja yake kwa Spika kufuatia barua aliyoandika Desemba mwaka jana juu ya dhamira ya kuwasilisha hoja binafsi.

“Nitaomba iundwe kamati teule ya Bunge kufuatilia huu ujangili unaoendelea nchini, kwani tafiti mbalimbali zinaonyesha kuwa robo ya pembe na meno ya faru na ndovu duniani zinatoka Tanzania.

“Idadi ya tembo wanaouawa ni wastani wa 67 kwa siku, na hali hiyo ni hatari kwa rasilimali asili za taifa na pia inahatarisha maliasili na urithi wa nchi,” alisema.

Alisema mtandao wa ujangili nchini ni mkubwa kuliko inavyofikiriwa, na kwamba hata wanaojitoa mhanga kushughulikia hali hiyo maisha yao yanakuwa hatarini.

Waziri wa Maliasili na Utalii, Balozi Khamis Kagasheki, alipoulizwa juu ya tuhuma hizo, alikana kuhusika kwa Ikulu, lakini akadai kuwa mtandao wa biashara hiyo ni mkubwa, na kwamba mazingira yaliyopo yanatia shaka kuwa baadhi ya viongozi wanahusika.

“Haiwezekani kontena linapitishwa bandarini Dar es Salaam bila mtu yeyote kujua nini kimebebwa, halafu ufike Indonesia au China ndipo pembe hizo na meno yakamatwe, kuna kuzembea hapo na rushwa ndani yake,” alisema.

Alikiri kudokezwa na Mchungaji Msigwa kuhusu kusudio la kupeleka hoja binafsi na kudai kuwa ni hatua nzuri inayotokana na ukereketwa na uzalendo alionao kwenye rasilimali za taifa.

Hata hivyo, Kagasheki alisema idadi ya tembo inayotajwa kuuawa nchini si ya kweli kwa kuwa juhudi za udhibiti zinazofanywa na wizara yake zimepunguza kasi hiyo hadi kusifiwa na Jumuiya ya Ulaya.

“Hizi pembe za ndovu zinazokamatwa si kwamba tembo wote wameuawa wakati huu, haya ni makusanyo ya muda mrefu huko nyuma. Lakini vile vile watu wanapaswa kuelewa kuwa tembo wengi si kweli kuwa wanauawa Tanzania,” alisema.

Kagasheki alisema kuwa pembe hizo na meno ya tembo yanatoka kwa wingi katika nchi za Malawi na mashariki mwa Jamhuri ya Kidemokrasia ya Kongo ambako wanyama hao wanauawa zaidi, lakini usafirishaji wake unapitia katika bandari ya Tanzania.

Alisema nchi hizo hazina bandari na hivyo hutumia Tanzania hali inayofanya nyara hizo zinapokamatwa nje ya nchi kuonekana kuwa zimetoka hapa, hivyo kuonekana kama kitovu cha biashara hiyo.

Lembeli apigilia msumari

Kamati ya Ardhi, Maliasili na Mazingira imepigilia msumari kwa kuanika namna hoteli za kitalii zilivyoongoza kwa hujuma.

Mwenyekiti wa kamati hiyo, James Lembeli akizungumza na waandishi wa habari katika ofisi ndogo za Bunge jijini Dar es Salaam jana, alisema wamiliki wa hoteli hizo wamekuwa wakiilipa serikali dola 4 tu, kwa kila mgeni wanayempokea, wakati wao wamekuwa wakitoza dola 350.

Lembeli alisema hujuma hiyo, imetokana na mikataba ya ovyo iliyopo, na hivyo akaagiza serikali kuwasilisha mikataba yote ya hoteli zilizoko ndani ya hifadhi, kuchunguza kwanini zinalipa kiasi kidogo cha fedha ilhali wanakusanya zaidi.

Lembeli alisema kumekuwepo na mzozo na malumbano katika hoteli za Ngorongoro, Seronera na Noro, ambazo kwa mujibu wa mikataba iliyopo pesa inayolipwa dola 4 ya kila mgeni kwa siku ni ndogo.

“Tulipowahoji walisema kuwa mikataba inawafunga. Je, ni kwanini watu hawa wanatengeneza pesa ndani ya hifadhi, lakini hawachangii kile wanachokipata?” alihoji Lembeli.

Alisema kuna mchezo mchafu unafanywa ndiyo maana zilitolewa kwa bei ya kutupwa, kiasi kwamba kama Mwalimu Julius Nyerere angefufuka leo na kushuhudia ufisadi huo angetoa machozi.

Alishangaa kuona kuwa, mtu anayeweka ‘tenti’ ndani ya hifadhi analipa dola 60 kwa Mamlaka ya Hifadhi za Taifa nchini (Tanapa) iweje hoteli hizo kubwa zilipe dola nne mpaka sita?

Katika hatua nyingine, Lembeli amemshukia Waziri wa Nchi Ofisi ya Rais (Mahusiano na Uratibu), Stephen Wassira kwamba ndiye tatizo kubwa la wananchi kuishi katika maeneo ya malisho ya wanyama.

Lembeli aliyasema hayo jana mbele ya Waziri Kagasheki na Naibu wake Lazaro Nyalandu wakati wa kujadili ripoti ya wabunge wa Kamati ya Ardhi, Maliasili na Mazingira.

Alisema Wassira ni tatizo na amemtaka kukaa naye ili wananchi katika jimbo lake waache kuingia katika maeneo ya Ushoroba ambayo ni sehemu sahihi ya malisho ya wanyama katika hifadhi hizo

Bagamoyo gets USD50,000 to boost ecological tourism

The Environmental Development Fund has granted USD 50,000 to Bagamoyo Town Municipal for the implementation of its strategy to improve tourism in nine countries in Africa.

Speaking during the launching of the Ecological tourism project, Bagamoyo District Commissioner Ahmed Kipozi said Bagamoyo residents should feel proud of the project as it is an opportunity for employment, but also could represent the country in international arena especially in tourism.

He called on the relevant authorities to put the fund to the use intended by the donors in order to preserve the good image of the country and also embrace the employment opportunities hence contributing to the development of the country at large.

Kipozi called for transparency and involvement of the people and tourism specialists at all stages of the implementation of the project’s goals.

For his part, Bagamoyo Municipality planning Officer Clemence Mkusa said that strategies of the implementation of the project shall build capacity among the people in improving the current environment in the municipality.

Apart from building capacity, he said that it could bring new skills to various groups dealing with tourism activities, tour guides and fishermen along the Indian Ocean thus helping to the preservation of the natural resources around the Ocean.

Bandits terrorise Dar`s Kigamboni hostel zone

A sizeable number of students from various universities, colleges and schools putting up at private hostels at Kigamboni in Dar es Salaam are living in deep and pervasive fear for their lives and the safety of their property.

This follows a wave of raids at the hostels, most often at night, believed to involve criminal elements from neighbouring areas hunting for laptops, mobile phones, money and various other valuables.

Sources say two of the raids have left at least two male students seriously injured, one nursing machete wounds and admitted to the Muhimbili Orthopaedic Institute (MOI). One of the students hurt is said to be from the main (Dar es Salaam) campus of the Institute of Finance Management (IFM).

This paper has it on good authority that representatives of the IFM administration have on several occasions toured parts of the Kigamboni suburb commonly raided by the bandits and held talks with local residents, but this does not appear to have helped.

The exact number of hostels raided and students accommodated there has yet to be established, but Dar es Salaam Special Zone Police Commander Suleiman Kova is said to have visited the terrorised areas earlier this week to assess the situation on the ground.

Impeccable sources told this paper that armed police officers have since that visit been deployed to the hostel sites to ensure law and order and thus reassure panic-stricken residents about that the situation was under control and there was no cause for alarm.

“Commander Kova toured the area some three or four days ago for a first-hand account of the situation after he had learnt of what was going. Soon after, we discovered that there was an especially heavy presence of regular and other police personnel on day and night patrol,” said a Mwalimu Nyerere Memorial Academy student accommodated at one of the half-dozen or so hostels in the area.

“But this has not stopped students from taking away their laptops, mobile phones and other valuable items for safe custody at their respective homes and other places of their choice,” she added.

The student, who sought strict anonymity “for fear of my safety”, said her hostel is one of four or five along what is popularly known as Serengeti Street, “which has been targeted by the bandits on three occasions recently and where we are all scared of moving around except when we are in groups”.

“It is very awkward for a university or college student to be forced into moving without a laptop or a mobile phone, as these gadgets play a decisive role in academic life. We hope the police patrols will remain in force for a long enough time for lasting peace to prevail,” she added.

Another student, who said his hostel was raided once last month, expressed fear that things could worsen unless security is intensified through sustainable intervention by law-enforcement agents and through community policing.

“We are fortunate that, until now, the gangsters have only targeted money and technological gadgets. But one day they may choose to inflict even more harm, including resorting to rapes and killings,” he added, calling for immediate consultations between government and university authorities on ways to solve the problem once and for all.

The student noted that one of the parts of Kigamboni especially notorious for the raids is Tungi, “an area where soldiers could be easily deployed to complement police efforts to restore peace and harmony”.

Contacted, Commander Kova refuted to have visited the hostels saying that it was not his work adding that he has his commanders who could do the work.

The Temeke RPC Englebert Kiondo when contacted said he planned to pay an abrupt visit to the area so that he could get sufficient information on how to deal with the criminals.

"I received a phone call yesterday from a person identified as one of the students living in one of the hostels at Kigamboni informing me about the crime…I am planning to visit the area,” he said.

He said he would seek more information from the Officer Commanding District before visiting the hostels which have been affected by the crime.

Such raids have also been reported in other private hostels around the city, which boasts the highest number of higher institutions of learning, but limited on-campus accommodation facilities.

Over 13,000 pupils shun ward secondary schools, says report

Over 13,000 pupils in Kinondoni District who were selected to join ward secondary schools in the past three years opted for private ones because parents and guardians have no confidence in the quality of education offered at the schools, a report has said.

A report issued over the weekend by Kinondoni District Education Officer (Secondary Education), Omath Sanga and submitted to the District Executive Director (DED), copy of which was availed to The Guardian shows that a total of 13,275 pupils did not report to the schools they were selected to join in the past three years.

Sanga said that in 2010 the number of pupils who did not report to the schools was 5,112 out of 15,700 who were selected.

In 2011 of the selected 14, 823 only 10,128 students joined ward schools while the remaining 3,695 opted for private schools.

Last year of the 13,955 chosen to join the secondary schools, only 9,487 reported, while 4,468 failed to do so.

Meanwhile education stakeholders have blamed the government for the poor performance of Form Two students saying that it was due to standardisation of the pass marks.

The stakeholders’ reactions come a few days after the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training released results indicating over 130,000 students are required to redo the examinations.

Speaking in separate interviews they said that standardization of pass marks has allowed pupils with low performance to join secondary schools.

Juma Mabuba a teacher at Bundikani Secondary School in Coast Region said students selected to join secondary education are of low academic capacity, but that the government is pushing them to fill the gaps in secondary schools.

He said almost 80 percent of students joining secondary schools don’t know how to read and write, creating a burden for teachers who have to start teaching them how to read and write instead of proceeding with the syllabus.

Mabuba however called on the government to raise the pass mark from 75 to 150 out of 400, so as to get better and qualified students to join the secondary schools.

He challenged district education officers’ programme of forcing teachers to run separate classes for better students and poorly performing ones as worsening the situation, since the poor performers lack support from the better pupils.

However, Annestazia Athuman a Form Two student at Mwanalugali secondary school blamed teachers and the government for the recurrence of teachers’strikes which affected their performance.

Athuman said the strikes affected them because teachers were not committed to teach since their demands have not been met.

“After the government forced teachers to teach while it has not resolved their grievances, they opted for go-slow she said.

For his part, President of the Tanzania Teachers Union (TTU), Gratian Mukoba said Dar es Salaam region deserves to lead in poor performance in the recent Form Two results because students are over-crowded, with almost 2000 per class, making it very difficult for a teacher to manage the burden.

He said the government should take note of the students claims that the teachers’ strike has contributed to the poor performance, and find a solution.

On Friday last week, the Deputy Minister for Education and Vocational Training, Philipo Mulugo said over 136,000 Form II students have failed the national examinations and are required to redo the exam in 2013 academic year.

The government reinstated the examinations were last year as one of the measures to contain cases of massive failures of students in the Form IV national examination

Pinda: Uchumi wa Tanzania utakua maradufu

WAZIRI Mkuu, Mizengo Pinda, amesema uchumi wa Tanzania utaendelea kukua maradufu kutokana na mifumo bora ya uwekezaji iliyopo, hali itakayosaidia pia kushindana katika soko la Afrika Mashariki.

Pinda alitoa kauli hiyo mwishoni mwa wiki jijini Dar es Salaam wakati wa uzinduzi wa duka la kusambaza bidhaa za Beko kutoka Uturuki, zikiwemo televisheni, friji na majiko ya umeme.

Alisema fursa muhimu ndizo zinazovutia wawekezaji kuja nchini na pato la nchi kuendelea kukua maradufu.

Alisema mara zote Tanzania imekuwa katika kutafuta masoko na wawekezaji, hivyo kuzinduliwa kwa duka hilo ni ishara kuwa nchi imepiga hatua kwenye maendeleo.

“Uwepo wa Beko ni matunda bora ya serikali yetu… rais wetu alitembelea Uturuki na alikutana na rais wao huko na kuhimiza wawekezaji kuja nchini. Hii ni moja ya matunda ya ushirikiano katika kukuza uchumi,” alisema Pinda.

Aidha, Pinda aliishauri Kampuni ya Modern Holdings (EA) Limited, inayosimamia bidhaa za Beko nchini na nchi za Jumuiya ya Afrika Mashariki kufungua maduka mengi zaidi nchini.

Kwa upande wake, Mwenyekiti wa kampuni hiyo, Anselm Minja, alisema bidhaa za Beko zitapatikana nchini kote kwa kufungua maduka sehemu mbalimbali kama walivyoombwa na Pinda.